Joseph Prebul, Chattanooga’s former auto dealership mogul who must report to federal prison by May 6, finally met with creditors this morning in his personal bankruptcy case.
The mandatory hearing that all debtors must have with creditors had been put off several times pending the outcome of Mr. Prebul’s criminal case in federal court.
The criminal case ended last Friday when a U.S. district judge in New York sentenced Mr. Prebul to a year in prison for misdemeanor bank larceny.
Other charges of felony wire fraud related to his alleged theft of close to $7 million from his brother-in-law were dismissed. Mr. Prebul must still forfeit that money, though, and it is expected that the funds will be returned to brother-in-law Danny Bensusan.
Mr. Bensusan’s allegations in early 2009 led to the downfall of Mr. Prebul’s businesses as well as his personal bankruptcy and also spurred complicated civil litigation that is ongoing between him and Mr. Bensusan.
Mr. Prebul on Tuesday morning declined to discuss the hostile relationship with his brother-in-law. He and his attorneys always have claimed that it was a family dispute that never should have been brought to criminal court.
See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.